Determination of Agro-Morphological Characteristics and Relationships Between Characters in Green Lentil Varieties

Lentils are preferred for their drought resistance and their ability to be cultivated successfully in marginal areas. Due to their significant contribution to closing the protein gap in recent years, their preference rate has increased notably. However, obtaining high-yielding varieties can take many years. Even so, it is essential to understand the relationships between plant traits to guide breeding studies effectively. This study was conducted to determine the grain yield and specific yield components of green lentil varieties and to reveal the relationships between these characteristics under the ecological conditions of Mucur, Kırşehir. The research was conducted in a farmer's field in Medetsiz village, Mucur district, Kırşehir province, over two years (2021 and 2022). Ten green lentil varieties developed by various research institutes and the private sector were utilized. The experiment was conducted according to a randomized block design with 3 replications. The variables examined included plant height, first pod height, biological yield, number of pods per plant, number of grains per plant, thousand-grain weight, and grain yield per plant. Data normality was assessed using the Anderson-Darling test, and homogeneity of variances was assessed using the Bartlett test. Pearson correlation was conducted to determine the level of relationship between the variables. The results indicated that the variables were normally distributed and had homogeneous variances. According to the correlation analysis, significant positive relationships were identified between first pod height and plant height, number of pods per plant and biological yield, number of grains per plant and biological yield, yield per plant and number of grains per plant, and yield per plant and thousand grain weights were determined to be positive and significant. The highest yield was obtained from the Ceren variety, at 0.91 g/plant, whereas the lowest was recorded from the Karagül variety, at 0.71 g/plant.